I was astounded - gobsmacked, in fact- by the amount of feedback generated by my blog, far more than I have received thus far for Demon and Demeanour. Maybe I should quit writing and start blogging.
My sincere thanks to all who replied, especially the Anon, who broke the habit of a lifetime, or at least of ten years as a SOL reader, to give feedback.
By and large the consensus was scores are not the most reliable indicator of a story's worth, especially when/ if given for early chapters. Many wait for the completion of a story before voting, and choose which stories to read using a combination of genre, author, story codes, and blurb, with the higher scoring story taking preference when all other criteria are equal. However, some find merit in being able to change their vote during the life of a story, and one responder made the point that had my score been higher I would not have written the blog, which is fair comment
I was not criticising the scoring system; it is the same for all writers on SOL, merely wondering if a story should be completed before votes are cast. As for the sudden drop of my scores; someone, tongue in cheek I think, suggested my not tagging the chapter with 'bestiality 'was my undoing. Could be true, but I have no feedback to discover what misdemeanour(s) I committed.
Time will tell if the 'no vote until completion 'makes any difference to my scores -downloads are slightly less, but not significantly so. I hope to post the final chapter, #26, on Sunday 15th October.
Once again, my grateful thanks to all who have contacted me.
Best regards
Jack G